


Anxiety Unwinding

by MoominQuartz (IceCreAMS)



Series: Fluff Bingo [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nail Polish, POV Third Person Limited, Parent-Child Relationship, Platonic Relationships, Steven Universe Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23143180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/pseuds/MoominQuartz
Summary: Steven and Sadie get a moment to hang out.Takes place post-Little Graduation, pre-Growing Pains.
Relationships: Crystal Gems & Steven Universe, Sadie Miller & Steven Universe
Series: Fluff Bingo [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655521
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92
Collections: Writing Squad Fluff Bingo





	Anxiety Unwinding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KrisseyCrystal (IceCreAMS)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/gifts), [inabsurd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inabsurd/gifts).



> Krissey requested "painting nails" with Steven + Sadie, and Bianca requested it with Steven + the gems, so... I found a way to merge the two rather than prioritize. Kind of. I hope you both enjoy!
> 
> Check [[here]](https://moominquartz.tumblr.com/post/612584981689253888) for my current Fluff Bingo card if you'd like to request something!

“Wow, you’re… pretty good at this, huh?”

Steven blinks. He looks up from his work on Sadie’s nails but she quickly averts her eyes, as if embarrassed. “I guess?”

“It’s just.” Sadie gives a wave of her free hand, the one he’s just finished. It catches her eye as she does, and that gets a sigh out of her. “I’ve never really been into this stuff. So it’s kind of fun that you are, and that no one makes it a big deal for you.”

Huh. Now that he thinks about it, he kind of gets why Sadie’s never been into it. If every time she’d expressed interest, her mom went absolutely off-the-wall bonkers about it, then Steven probably would’ve been turned off from it, too.

“Your mom?”

“I tried once.” Sadie sighs again. “You know how she is.”

“I’ve kinda had the opposite problem.” Steven laughs a little. His heartbeat picks up the pace — it’s such a  _ stupid  _ thing to complain about, especially given his target audience — so to make it easier, he focuses on her nails and resolutely does not think about the words coming out of his mouth. “When I was getting into this kinda thing as a kid… makeup, nail polish, all of it… the gems were really, really not interested. I only got practice when Dad was willing to let me do it, and then Ruby let me do hers for the wedding, and Connie and I would do each other’s sometimes, and the Pizza twins when they felt like humoring me, but…”

So what’s he complaining about? He’s had plenty of people to support this interest. He bites his tongue and regrets every word. 

“But… not the gems, huh.” It’s not a question. Sadie fills in what he cut himself off from saying. He can feel her eyes on him and he doesn’t know what to think of it. “I’m sorry, Steven.”

“W-what?” He laughs again but this time it’s high, anxious. “Oh no, it’s — it’s fine. I mean, at least I like,  _ had  _ people to do this stuff with who wouldn’t make it a big deal so it’s—”

Sadie sets her still-drying hand on his shoulder, and he blinks.

Shit, he missed his last stroke. 

“Hey. It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay. It sucks. It sucks for both of us.”

He nods, slowly exhaling, the anxiety unwinding carefully, as if it was sentient and unsure if it was time to leave.

He’s missed this. Time with Sadie. Not doing much but just hanging out. They’re in her old room, the basement in her mom’s house. Sadie isn’t in town much anymore, having moved to Empire City where she shares a two-bedroom apartment with Shep, so the time they do have together is precious.

It just sucks that he’s going to spend it all doing…  _ this.  _ Venting about his problems when Sadie’s got plenty of issues, too. But weirdly enough, whenever he does vent them to her, she has this way of balancing that negativity out.

“Sadie,” Steven says as he caps the bottle of nail polish. “You’re pretty cool.”

Sadie laughs. “Says the man who just did my nails.” She holds up the finished product high in the air, a smile on her face.

“Thanks, Steven. I’ve missed you.”

His heart swells with fondness, and he grins. “I’ve missed you too, Sadie.”

And he clings to that.

**Author's Note:**

> I just have a lot of feelings about Steven and Sadie, and the differences they have in their relationships with their parents, and I imagine they'd have a lot to talk about.


End file.
